Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-10-28

=
supposing, so far as it had place in he
; mind at all, that the man was the next
door girls friend But one evening h.
came in aud she could hear his voice as h
went around to the back door It was pc
culiarly rasping and harsh. and as the hous,
happened TO be otherwise unusually quiet
she could distinctly hear it in the distanc,
from the kitchen for an hour before ht
finally took his leave She had BY this
time grown quite attached TO Tilda, and she
instinctively feared trouble. "Ill wait and
see, she said. She was accordingly some
what on the alert, and.at the end Of two
weeks was sure that he had spent three
evenings with Tilda So she determined
on an interview As before, she waited
until Tilda was at leisure and alone and
then went TO her, armed for war, but wary.
"You have had several visits from a new
friend lately, Tilda, she said, with pleas
ant smile lis he a relation y
Tilda looked conscious, and crimped her
apron hem uncomfortably. It was a mo-
ment before she spoke "Das been yoong
man com sometime hare but deys good
man dey's all time to de shursh.'
As the Swedish church was notoriousy
the one common place of meeting OF all
the young working people of that nation in
the city, Mrs. Loring had her doubts as to
the singleness Of motive which influenced
the young mans devotion TO the sanctuary /;
but she kept this question of casuistry to
herself, and also withheld any comment up
on Iida's ignoring of her question as to re
ationship and aimed directly at the point
Of what she came to say.
Il have no fault to find with the young
man, Tilda but I was thinking Of that
nice lover Of yours in Sweden. Youmustn't
| forget him "
Tlda laughed ooh, das all right, Nee
sis Lo'ing," she said 'yoong gels must
hev sometime lettle foon He'll trus' me-
| with little head toss. "Das all right.
Mrs. Loring looked and felt doubtful,
but she remembered the many girls in her
own circle who also had "a little foon, and
feeling, like the Vicar Of Wakefield tired
of being always wise, threw out some
word of general caution, and retired from
the field.
Again the weeks ran on, bringing such
sequel as we NAV have guessed Mr.. Neil
sen, as Tilda's new friend was named, could
not have been very amusing person, for
it took more and more frequent visits, un-
til finally he came nightly, to afford her
the "leetle foopn which she claimed as her
right. Mrs, Loring expostuated until Til
da became sullen, and then, making up her
mind that the matter was out of her PROV
ince dropped it, shortly after which Tilda
gave warning"
You are going to be married, Tilda =
Mrs. Loring said.
Tilda's face hardened and she stood 81.
lent.
Mrs. Loring continued, 81 have no right
to your confidence, Tilda, if you do not
choose to give it but you have been with
me a good while, and am attached to you,
and | am 30 anxious that YOU should do
what is right THE last word with man
ner 50 winning that 1t broke Tilda down.
Il kenentv halp en-, Meess Lo'ing. she
sobbed "Neekms hev been gone longer
time, an deys fader donnQtty settin veil an
donnotty die, an ! kenenty always wyatt
for man wut kere more for deys fader an
moder n dey kere for me-
Mrs LOring was silent, and seeing abso-
lutely no soil in which to SOW her store of
good seed, remained so, rejecting as she
retreated, upon the difficulty of grating
one persons actions upon anothers mo-
tves
So Tilda left at the expiration of her
month, and soon after was married. Mrs
Loring employed another cook, and Tilda
slid into the past,
1t was the new cooks "sVening out,
about e manth after Tilda's marriage, Mrs
Loring was reading In the library, when a
loud knocking reused her to a sense that a
gentler one had preceded it. 1t seemed to
be at the kitchen door, and she went herself
to open it. At first she did not recognize
the man whom she found standing thare
but in an instant il Gang 70 her that it was
Tilda's old lover, and in that same instant
she realized with gathering indignation that
Illda with the cowardice of a weak and
ignorant nature had shirked the hard duty
of confessing her faithlessness and had
left the result IN distance and chance.
What should she dos All this while she |
pleasantly welcomed him back to America.
and asked MIN in. His honest face, which |
had aged more than was natural in year
and half, betrayed the disappointment he |
felt when Mrs. Loring, and not Tilda open /
ed the door.
'Ees Iilda gone out = he asked
Eyes, - she answered that is" longing .
to gain a little time, she left me over a
pity that was in her heart crept into her
face, and Nicholas perceived it,
''Ees anything com at hare - he asked. |
in an awe-struck tone. "Ees she died =
''No, my poor fellow" answered Mrs
Lorlng, laying her delicate white hand
kindly on his hig red one, "Sit down a
minute, and try to be brave and strong, for
have something very hard to tell YOU
Nicholas oheyed, his weather beaten
cheeks hlnnching under the brown, and his
honest blue eyes holding so much wonder
ing distress in them that Mrs. Loring's task
became indeed hard.
1T is better to know the worst than TO
wait she said "Tilda has been very
cruel and untruthful to you, and she is mar
red to an a heavy groan arrested her
MOI Cl,u hal IL /
shrinking from gazing upon the pain she
was giving Now she saw that he had sunk
forward in limp heap, head and shoulders
buried in his arms upon the table. Perfect
silence followed the groan, and Mrs Loring
respected it but as minutes passed, and he
neither moved nor made a sound, she spoke
to him Receiving no answer, she touched
his shoulder he did not move. Then she
knew the big man had tainted. There was
ice water in the dining room and quickly
getting glass, she turned his head so as to
bring the face outward, and dashed little
i'll it, The effect was immediate He open
ed his eyes and lifted his head. For mo-
ment he was quito dased then all came
back TO him, and he staggered to his feet
II will go, ," he said, heavily, half feeling,
half looking about him for his hat.
mo- indeed, my poor fellow :" exclaimed
warm you some tea before you go out
am afraid you are not well. And she mo
toned him TO sit down Then he saw the
splash of water on the table and the front
of her dress (for she had spilled it in run
ning), and putting his hand TO his shirt col
lar, felt it there He thought an instant,
and the meaning came to him.
II hev mex trooble,n he said, humbly
- hev trayvel so far, an hev sometime
not eat mush, an mar heart dey's gone :"
and his voice broke,
Mrs. Loring was putting the tea on the
stove as he spoke After stirring the fire
she sat down by him. 81 am sorry for you ~
she said, earnestly. 81 wish | could help
you bear your trouble, but am afraid no
body can but Tilda has been wicked and
tickle, and you must try to forget her,
Nicholas WINGED he could not hear the
rosy little woman that had 30 long been dear
10 him harshly spoken Of even now. EFF
you please Meesis Lo'ing, mebbe some mar
letters been los Mebbe see tink forgat
hare, de vway so lots odder mans does
Mrs. Loring thought Indignation would
be good tonic, and replied mo she re-
ceived every one of your letters-one every
two weeks till she was married and since,
for what l know. But she said she wouldn't
wait for a man that loved his father and
mother more than her"
The diversion was partly successful. "Ah,
mar poor ole moder ~ he exclaimed, the
blood mounting to his face. 'I'm breeng
hare fom all whut de tings we know, an
fnm uvrytings see love, for lida, An We
eey mar fader In deys grave fen deys
LikkistaH flowers Is not dead, for Tilda
All, see never love me ~
mo- said Mrs, Loring, "Im afraid she
never knew what true love was And your
father is dead Tell me about it,
"Iank you,n he said. "DeYls ON mont |